Between the ears

The results of the Putra Cup in Clearwater Bay, Hong Kong, last week are an indication of where our country’s golf development program presently stands.
The ladies led all throughout the tournament. They were in fact the favored team to clinch the title. It was just a stroke of bad luck that the Filipino ladies lost the championship to the Thais by one.
Our men’s team, together with the Thais, finished near the bottom.
We could not expect much from an all-rookie team this year, given that all of our players in last year’s Putra Cup team that finished second have joined the professional ranks.
Our junior team, the tournament’s defending champions which we expected to compete, just did not play well.
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The results of the tournament also showed the massive improvement of countries like Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
They seem to be doing something common and new in all their programs which appear to be working for them, at least for now.
They have foreign coaches and massive financial backing to support this.
More importantly, a few of their players who carried their respective teams to victory are homegrown talents who have gone abroad to study in places where golf development is fully supported through collegiate tournaments and proper coaching.
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I have always held the belief that once a player’s game reaches a certain level, his performance is determined in the area between his ears.
Perhaps this is why many golfers, given the proper basics, naturally improve as they mature.
However, as we all know, maturity cannot be rushed. It can only be supported. In time, with proper parenting and education, I believe the chances of attaining these are far greater.
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It is the task of the country’s golf leaders to find a way to encourage our schools and universities to incorporate golf into their curriculums.
Perhaps leagues like the NCAA and UAAP can find a way to include golf as part of their program. This may ignite a fire in a player who will now be playing for something bigger than himself, a trait proven to be very effective when representing one’s country.
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We have actually two members of the national team who could not compete in this year’s Putra Cup in Hong Kong. They had to attend the freshman orientation day in their respective schools abroad.
Jobim Carlos, who is an incoming freshman at the University of San Francisco, recently finished at the top of his team’s ladder on his debut tournament.
And Marcel Puyat is an incoming freshman at Stanford University.
One hopes that their schedules will allow both of them to play for the country in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games this November.
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At the end of the day, we must remember that our golf development program seeks to not only develop golfers who can win medals and trophies for the country or to make a name for themselves in the pro ranks.
More importantly, we are looking to develop individuals to have the proper values and morals and who can learn how to think on and off the golf course. Perhaps one day this athlete will be able to contribute to society through this wonderful game called golf.
We we can all cooperate and work together to make this happen.

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